Star Child
by TheVampireDragon
Summary: Her name is Lucy, and they have loved her since the moment they saw her. Tales of Lucy as told by her Spirits.
1. Chapter 1

** This story is going to be sort of drabble-ish. The chapters won't be true drabbles, but they will be short and kind of meandering. Because each chapter is told by a different character and is about about a different event, each chapter could be rated anywhere from K to M. Each chapter gets its own warnings, summary, and rating. Things will be in roughly chronological order. There's also a likelihood of me playing around with the timeline of events during Lucy's childhood, since there are some things we don't know about, such as at what specific age she lost her mother.**

** Also, don't expect regular updates. This will be one of those stories that are updated whenever the inspiration hits me. Now, this chapter! *flourishes***

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: K_

_Warnings: None_

_Summary: Lucy's future Celestial Spirits meet her for the first time. She's a little young, but they have a feeling she'll do just fine._

_Word Count: 1452_

_~Star Child~_

She is less than two hours old when they meet her for the first time.

When her mother, Layla, became pregnant, her Spirits had been overjoyed for her. Capricorn in particular was very happy. He had sworn to protect Layla and her descendants after all, and soon, the first one would be here! Cancer and Aquarius were pleased for Layla of course, but not as much as Capricorn. It didn't affect them as much.

That changed when Layla told them that she would teach her unborn daughter to be a Stellar Spirit Mage, and would eventually pass on her keys to her.

_Now_ the Spirits were really interested. This wasn't just their summoner's child, this was their future master. Even Crux, who spent most of his time sleeping or thinking, was eager for the arrival of the child.

Capricorn flinches as another bloodcurdling scream comes from the hospital room. Layla had requested that her three Zodiac Spirits be there for the birth, but Capricorn is beginning to regret coming. Hearing Layla in such pain while he can do nothing is agonizing. He glances at Cancer. He looks just as worried, and his crab legs are doing a nervous kind of jig. Cancer voices both their thoughts.

"Is she supposed to be screaming this loudly, ebi?"

"Childbirth is painful," Aquarius says nonchalantly, hovering over the glass of water Layla had used to summon her. She is trying to look indifferent, but her tail is swishing a little instead of being in its usual elegant fold. Capricorn knows that she's unhappy here; she hadn't wanted to come in the first place, but after Layla begged for a week she had to give in. "It probably doesn't help that she's sustaining two Zodiac Spirits at the same time," she adds just a tad spitefully.

Cancer's crab legs quiver with worry. Capricorn was strong enough to come through the gate on his own (which he had done), but both Cancer and Aquarius had needed Layla to summon them so they could come. Normally, Layla could call all three of her Zodiacs at once without a problem, but how hard is it to hold them here while giving birth? He wonders for a moment if he should leave.

"Relax, you stupid crab," Aquarius says derisively, "Women weaker than Layla go through childbirth all the time and come out fine."

"Hush, both of you," Capricorn says, "I hear something." The murmurs that Capricorn's sensitive ears were picking up are getting louder. Suddenly Layla cries out louder then ever.

"I see the head!" the midwife cries out, "Push, Mrs Heartphilia, push!"

The three spirits perk up. Layla's cries become more and more agonized, and then suddenly the cries of a baby join the cacophony of noise.

"It's a girl!" the midwife exclaims. The baby seems to cry louder at this.

"Damn, but that thing can make some noise!" Aquarius complains. Capricorn doesn't reprimand her. He is too busy trembling with excitement.

Cancer obviously shares his sentiments, crab legs dancing around and an unusually large smile on his face. "I hope they let us in soon, ebi," he says.

Unfortunately, it isn't soon. In fact it is another hour before the nurse opens the door and calls for them. Capricorn picks up Aquarius' cup and the three Spirits file inside. The doctor jumps a little at the sight of them. The nurses, who had come and gone, had gotten used to them during Layla's nine hour labor, but the doctor hadn't seen them yet. Capricorn barely even notices the man. His gaze goes straight to his beloved Master. Layla looks positively exhausted, lying in a bed and propped up by pillows, but her face glows with happiness. Her husband, who Capricorn has never bothered to remember the name of (he's not important, not to Capricorn), is sitting across the room with his head between his knees as he tries to calm down. A nurse is bandaging one of his fingers. Evidently Layla had broken it.

"Hey, guys," Layla greets them, the exhaustion in her voice eclipsed by the overwhelming happiness on her face, "Come meet the newest member of the Heartphilias." The three Spirits crowd around her bed, looking curiously at the pink bundle she holds. Layla shifts the blankets, exposing the baby's face.

The infant has a thick head of blonde peach fuzz. Her nose is tiny, as are her lips, but already she is beautiful. At Cancer's gasp of awe, her lashless eyes open, showing eyes that are a murky blue.

"I didn't expect her to have blue eyes," Aquarius comments softly.

"She doesn't, necessarily," Layla says, "Almost all babies are born with blue eyes. They'll develop into their true color in a couple months."

"She's so little," Capricorn says. The baby looks at him with a surprising amount of focus for a newborn. In that moment, Capricorn remembers countless times of feeling kicks, of soothing the restless unborn baby with stories of the Spirit world. He wonders if the baby remembers too.

Layla holds the baby out to him. "Wanna hold her?" she says, a bit of mischief sparkling in her eye. Capricorn's own eyes widen, but he reaches out and takes the precious bundle. He holds her carefully, aware of how one of his hands is twice the size of her head. As he takes her, the pink blanket slips away, and her tiny arms and legs are free. She kicks in joy, and as soon as she's settled in his arms she swipes an arm through the air. He blinks in surprise. She does it again, and this time she hits his beard. Her tiny fingers twitch, and Capricorn realizes that she's trying to grab his beard. Something about it, some unknown feeling in his chest, makes him smile, and then it makes him laugh. It starts as a tiny chuckle, but soon develops into full blown laughter. The infant laughs along with him, tiny, high pitched giggles. It makes the new parents beam, to hear their baby laugh for the first time. Something in Capricorn is proud that her first smile, her first laugh, is because of him. Dimly, in the back of his mind, he registers that a part of him already loves this little future Master.

Cancer taps him on a shoulder with a crab leg. "Don't hog her, ebi," he scolds, "Let us have a turn, ebi!" Reluctantly, Capricorn hands the baby to the Crab Spirit.

Cancer holds the baby just as gently as Capricorn. He even removes his triangular sunglasses to get a better look at her. The six crab legs curl around them, lovingly, protectively, making a barrier between the baby and the dangers of the outside world. The doctor looks nervously at the appendages, but Layla smiles, knowing her newborn is safe in that cage, that she'll _always_ be safe in that cage. Cancer smiles gently. Unlike Capricorn, he is not thinking of times past, but of the future this baby will have. He touches her blonde hair and wonders when it will be long enough to style for the first time. Then he turns and offers the baby to Aquarius.

"Ugh," the Water Bearer says, making a face. Nevertheless, she takes the baby, holding her correctly, if a little less gently than either of the others. The baby gives her a toothless smile, and Aquarius softens a little bit. She examines a tiny hand, looks at the perfect little nails. She jerks in surprise when the baby curls her hand around the Spirit's finger. Suddenly, Aquarius is no longer ice; she's melted butter instead. "A girl, huh?" Aquarius says, "Better than a boy. Got lucky there, Layla." Layla laughs, and Aquarius lightly bounces the baby in her arms. "You know, munchkin," she says conversationally, "I've got a boyfriend. A great boyfriend. And you know, one day you'll have one too." The new father chokes from where he sits, and the nurse makes him put his head back between his knees before he starts hyperventilating. "And if you don't have one, I'll make sure you get one. A good one, who's hot and has good abs and treats you nice." Aquarius nods to herself, evidently deciding that this is going to happen no matter what.

"S-She's a bit young for that, e-ebi..." Cancer says weakly. Capricorn and Layla's husband are in a similar state. Layla, on the other hand, seems absolutely delighted. Aquarius hands the infant back to Layla, and the baby settles into her mother's arms for a restful nap.

It occurs to Capricorn that there is one question that they haven't thought to ask yet.

"What's her name?" he asks.

"Her name is Lucy. Lucy Heartphilia."

_~Star Child~_

** Maybe I should have put a warning for fluff or sickening sweetness.**

** Ah, I'm sure you're all fine.**

** Did you enjoy? I know I enjoyed writing it. I was a little iffy on the usage of present tense, since I normally write in past tense, but that's just the way it naturally flowed. Tell me how I did on that, please.**

** I haven't planned on doing a lot of the main events from the series. We already know how Lucy rescues Loke and gets Gemini, et cetera, et cetera. What I'm planning on focusing on his the behind the scenes stuff, the relationship building and the things that happened before Lucy joined Fairy Tail. I'm kinda on a roll right now, so the next chapter should be up today or tomorrow.**

** Thanks for reading!**

** Vamp**


	2. Chapter 2

** I was really pleased with the turnout for the last chapter guys. While I only have one review thus far (Shout out to QueenOfDarkHearts for being the first to review this story!), a ton of people favorited and followed not only this story, but me as well. I've never had such a turnout for any of my stories' first chapter, and it made me very happy.**

** Since I was so pleased, I started this chapter about 3 hours after I posted the first one.**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: K_

_Warnings: None_

_Summary: Cancer sees Lucy for the first time since she was born. She's gotten quite a bit bigger. And even better, her hair is beautiful!_

_Word Count: 1307_

_~Star Child~_

Layla's health has been failing.

It took her a long time, longer than it should have, to recover from giving birth while sustaining two Celestial Spirits. Even though she's recovered from that now, she's been having bouts of sickness. She'll fall ill, then recover, then fall ill again, sometimes before she's even recovered from the previous one. They used to be short, but they've been getting longer. Cancer has watched from the Spirit world, silently concerned.

He is talking with Libra right now. She's a very level headed Spirit, and normally is good at reassuring others. Her summoner's wife has just had a baby, and she too is promised to the child once old enough. He was hoping for some reassurance, given in Libra's cold, logical way, that Layla's health issues are normal, but Libra's also very good at hurting others. She doesn't do it intentionally, but she does not lie, and she's not sparing his feelings. Cancer is feeling worse by the minute talking to her. He is glad when he feels the tingle that means he's being summoned.

There is a whirlwind of color, and then he reforms in Layla's bedroom. He feels a pang in his heart when he sees his beloved summoner. She's obviously suffering from another bout of sickness; her face is pale and drawn, and she's lost weight, her cheeks sunken. She's resting in the middle of her king sized bed, surrounded by fretful servants with trays of teas and soups, trying to tempt her. Cancer knows her servants love her for her kind and fair disposition. Her Spirits love her for the exact same reason. She smiles at him, and it hurt to see how much it tires her just to _smile_.

"How are you, ebi?" He asks needlessly. It's obvious how she is.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose," Layla's smile turns wry, "Come sit down, Cancer."

He sits down on the edge of the bed, but she beckons him closer, so he moves all the way onto the bed, sitting next to her with his legs crossed. She pats his knee kindly, as if _he's_ the one in need of comfort.

"I thought that you'd want to be here for this," Layla explains. Cancer doesn't understand, until a servant hands her a blonde baby.

He's surprised. Lucy's so much bigger than he remembers. It makes sense, of course; she's nearly eighteen months now. She's really a toddler more than a baby. The murky blue eyes Cancer remembers have turned into a clear chocolatey brown. He's absolutely amazed to see a flash of recognition in the baby's eyes. Is it possible that she remembers him when she's only met him once eighteen months ago?

Lucy grins at him and says, "Ba." Cancer can see teeth starting to show in her gums.

Layla coos at her daughter. "Yes, you remember Cancer, don't you?" She grins proudly at Cancer. "Lu-chan is a very smart girl."

"I'm not surprised, ebi," he replies, "Especially when you consider who her mother is, ebi."

Layla grins again. She waves a hand, and the servants reluctantly depart. "Lu-chan's hair has gotten long enough to style. Wanna help?"

Cancer grins and nods. Lucy's silky blonde hair reaches to her jaw now, just long enough to style cutely. He doesn't acknowledge the thought he has in the back of his mind, the thought that Layla summoned him because she's too weak to do it herself.

It's a valid thought.

Cancer helps Layla sit up. He pulls out a brush, and together they carefully brush Lucy's hair. Cancer had expected her to protest, but Lucy is beaming and babbling half formed words. She's loving the attention, and it's so cute that even Aquarius couldn't think she wasn't adorable. Even better, by the time her hair is fully brushed, she's learned his name.

"Canca!"

Or at least the closest thing.

"Canca!" Lucy chirps again.

"Yes, ebi?"

"Canca, up!" Lucy demands, holding her arms up in the universal 'pick me up' sign. Cancer obliges.

She's heavier than he remembers, and in the time that he's distracted moving two of his six legs to support her, she's stolen his sunglasses. Lucy waves her prize around gleefully.

"You can't have those, ebi," Cancer reprimands gently. He tries to take them back, but Lucy hugs them to her little chest.

"Mine!" Lucy shrieks, her little toddler voice amazingly loud.

"Lucy, that's not nice. Those aren't yours. Give them back," Layla scolds her gently.

Lucy pouts a little, but she offers the glasses back to Cancer.

"Tell Cancer that you're sorry."

"Lucy looks up at him, still pouting, before saying, "Sowwy Canca."

"It's all right, ebi," he says, taking his glasses back and replacing them on his face. Lucy is still pouting as he sets her down on his lap and begins separating her hair into sections. She would look cute with some bangs to frame her little face...

Cancer clips away carefully. Lucy watches him curiously, and Layla is smiling peacefully. He wonders if this reminds her of when they used to do each other's hair. It's what it reminds him of.

He finishes clipping, and tilts up Lucy's head so that he can get a good look at her. Cancer gives a tiny smile; he was right, the bangs framed her face and brought her big brown eyes out. There was still something missing though.

He separates the rest of her hair into two parts. Lucy's hair isn't long enough to braid yet, so he puts it into two tiny pigtails. She looks truly adorable this way.

"There, ebi," Cancer says softly, "Don't you look pretty now, ebi?"

Lucy latches onto the one word she really understands. "Pretty?" she asks.

"Yes, pretty, ebi," he says with another small smile, "Do you want to see, ebi?"

"Yeah!"

Cancer chuckles and picks her up, two crab legs moving to help support her weight. He is surprised when she puts her arms around his neck and pretty much supports herself. He cradles her with the legs anyway. He's carrying precious cargo, after all.

He carries her across the room to stand in front of a full body mirror. It shows a man with crab legs, holding an adorable toddler with pigtails clad in a pink dress. Cancer gets Lucy's attention, then points at the toddler in the mirror.

"Who's that, ebi?" he asks, "She's very pretty, ebi."

"That's Lucy!" the toddler shrieks in joy.

"Are you sure, ebi? That girl is awfully pretty, ebi."

"Is Lucy!" the toddler insists.

"You know what, I think you're right, ebi! That is Lucy, ebi!" he says, pretending to be quite astonished.

Lucy screams in joy again, right into his ear. Cancer thinks that it's quite amusing that she can make so much noise with her little lungs, but wishes that she wasn't making it right in his ear.

"You know who should see this, ebi? Your mama, ebi. Do you want to show your mama, ebi?" he asks, bouncing her in his arms. Cancer thinks that he's got this toddler thing down.

"Yeah!"

Cancer gives another one of his tiny smiles and turns around. He's quite surprised to find that Layla has drifted off while he was entertaining Lucy.

Said toddler looks up at him with an adorable pout. "Mama sleep," she says, sounding quite disappointed.

"I think you're right, ebi," Cancer sighs, pretty disappointed himself. Lucy does look very cute, after all. He looks at his sleeping Master, then down at his tiny charge. "We can show her later, ebi," he decides. He spots an armchair by a window. Cancer sits down, sitting up perfectly straight so as to avoid crushing his crab legs. He arranges Lucy in his lap, and she looks up at him curiously. He smiles at her.

"Wanna hear a story, ebi?"

_~Star Child~_

** This chapter is about 145 words shorter than the previous ones, but I don't think 145 words matter too much. I think the chapter works anyway.**

** As I said above, I started this chapter 3 hours after I posted the first chapter. Then I had to go to bed, then I had to go to school, then I came home and finished typing it up. In that time, around 17 hours, I got two more reviews, and a couple more favorites and alerts. That's more than I got for my first multichapter story in the first week. I adore you people, I truly do. Please keep it up, it makes me so happy~~~3 It also makes me determined to post the next chapter.**

** So, I might have taken some liberties with childhood development in this chapter. I looked it up, and an eighteen month old can walk and say simple words and phrases, but Lucy's saying simple sentences. I also have no idea if she would have teeth by that point, so I wrote it so that they were just coming in.**

** I also think I put way too much faith in a person's ability to stay asleep (even more to _fall_ asleep) in a room with a screaming toddler, but hey. Let's just chalk it up to Layla being sick and needing her rest.**

** I also just realized that I never put up a disclaimer, so here:**

** I don't own Fairy Tail, and make no profit from this.**

** I'll make sure to put that at the start in the future.**

**Please keep reading and reviewing my loves~~!**

** Vamp**


	3. Chapter 3

** You know, you guys are spoiling me. I believe I mentioned last chapter how the response for this story in the first two days was better than the response for any of my other stories in the first week? Before, I was overjoyed with the response. Now, I'm getting greedy. I WANT MORE LOVE! GIVE ME MORE LOVE! *crazed stalker girlfriend expression* So I decided the best way to get more love was to post another chapter. So here you go. Do you love me yet?**

** Also, quick note that may make you guys not love me: I've been getting a lot of reviews talking about how sweet and cute this story is. While I appreciate the love, I have to warn you that each chapter gets its own rating for a reason. There will be times when things will not be sweet and cute, they will be sad, scary, or downright nasty. I already have a near rape scene planned for later chapters (much later). I just want to warn you guys that this will not always be happy fun adorableness. It's only cute right now because Lucy's still so young. Make SURE you read the summary and warnings for EVERY CHAPTER!**

** One last thing: I received a review that I think is best to answer out here, to head off similar questions. The review was:**

_** Where's Capricorn and Aquarius? Mostly Capricorn. )**_

** This is a good question in hindsight (at the time I was like 'What do you mean? They just aren't in the chapter :/ ). Each chapter focuses on one main Spirit, and that's the one that's telling the story, if you can tell a story from third person POV. There may be other Spirits, there may not be, but the chapter focuses on Lucy and one Spirit. I plan to eventually have at least one chapter for all of Lucy's Spirits.**

** So, yeah. That's that and here's the chapter.**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: K+_

_Warnings: None_

_Summary: Lucy will never tell anybody who taught her to swim. If she did, Aquarius would kill her._

_Word Count: 1550_

_~Star Child~_

Lucy is three years old now.

She is a bright, happy child, used to the company of her mother and the loving attention of many servants. Her Papa isn't always there, but she doesn't mind too much, because when he is there he swings her through the air and lets her ride on his shoulders. Lucy loves riding on Papa's shoulders, because the only person taller than Papa is Capico.

Capico is one of Mama's special friends. Mama has four, but Lucy's only met two; Capico and Canca. 'Capico' and 'Canca' aren't their real names, but their names are hard to say, especially for a little girl who replaces 'rah' with 'wah'. Besides, they said she could call them that. They _said_.

Today, Mama says she's going to meet another special friend.

Lucy sits by the pool, watching Mama. She's a bit confused, because normally Mama doesn't let her near the pool. Mama pulls out something gold and shiny and sticks in the water.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

Aquarius is pouting in the Spirit World. Scorpio's not here today – his summoner needed him for a mission – and she's _bored_. She is almost glad when she feels the tingle that tugs her towards her summoner.

When she reforms in front of Layla, she's not glad anymore. Not glad at _all_.

Layla has summoned her in a swimming pool. _A Swimming Pool!_ At least it's a saltwater pool and not a chlorine pool. Chlorine does _awful_ things to her scales. Layla stands before her in a red and white bikini. She's looking better – tired, but in good health. Aquarius is glad; it means she can be hard on her without feeling guilty.

"What do you want?" Aquarius says coldly.

Layla smiles, used to Aquarius' grumpy nature. "I was hoping you'd help me with Lucy-chan today," she says, indicating something to her left. Aquarius looks and finds a blonde child – a _tiny_ child – watching her. She wears a blue swimsuit decorated with Aquarius' Zodiac symbol. It's such an obvious bribe that Aquarius rolls her eyes.

The kid does look cute though.

"Hi. 'M Lucy," the kid smiles at her, big brown eyes looking up at her innocently.

_Lucy?!_ This is Lucy, the infant she held on the day she was born? Holy crap that kid has grown!

"Um... hi," Aquarius says. She can't really be mean to a kid this little, after all...

"Do you know Canca?"

Canca? Who the heck is – oh. _Cancer_.

"Yes, I know Cancer," she says.

Lucy's eyes light up.

"Do you know Capico too?!"

Aquarius crosses her arms over her chest. "Yes, I know Capricorn too. You should really call them by their real names," she snips.

The kid's smile disappears and she scowls at the Spirit.

"Their names are hard to say," Lucy says defiantly, "And they said I could call them that. They _said_ so!"

Aquarius hides her smirk. She has to admit, the kid has spunk. Either that or she was a spoiled brat. "Well you had better call me by my real name. It's Aquarius. Remember it, munchkin!"

Just as expected, Lucy rises to the challenge. "Imma call you Aqua!" she declares. If she wasn't being so irritating it would be hysterical how much a three year old looks like a Lord commanding a servant. Definitely a bit spoiled, Aquarius decides.

"Lucy! Behave yourself!" Layla scolds, "If Aquarius wants you to call her by her name, then you will call her by her name! You're being very rude!"

Lucy pouts, looking every inch the offended princess, but looks up at Aquarius and without any prompting says, "I'm sorry, Aquarius."

Aquarius smirks and says, "At least you have manners, kid."

Lucy's little fists clench, but before she can retaliate, Layla says, "Lucy, behave yourself. Aquarius is a friend, not a servant. You don't mistreat your friends."

That's definitely got to be the thing that Aquarius likes most about Layla. To her, her Spirits were friends, not objects or servants.

Layla hurries on quickly, before her daughter and Spirit can get in another argument. "Anyway, Aquarius, I was hoping you would help me teach Lucy-chan how to swim today. She doesn't know how to yet, and you're obviously the best person to teach her – who could be better at swimming than you?"

Aquarius appreciates the flattery, and graciously nods. Layla picks up her daughter, and starts wading down the pool stairs. Aquarius simply cancels her levitation and lands in the pool with a splash. Layla walks forward until her daughter is submerged up to her waist – which is really about mid torso for Layla. The kid shivers.

"It's cold!" She complains. Aquarius is beside them with a mere flick of her powerful tail.

"You'll get used to it munchkin," she assures her pupil, "Here, give her to me. Layla, you go sit on the stairs." They transfer the kid, who looks nervous to death, and Layla sits on the steps. Aquarius pauses, trying to figure out what to teach Lucy first. Swimming with legs and swimming with a tail are quite a bit different, after all. She eventually decides that it's probably best to teach her how to tread water before anything else, so she goes to a place where the water is over Lucy's head, but not by much. It's too shallow for Aquarius to be vertical, so she flips herself so that she's floating on her back. She puts Lucy all the way down in the water, but keeps a hold of her waist.

"Alright munchkin, I want you to kick your feet and sort of wave your arms," she tells her. It sounds stupid, sure, but that's basically the motion for treading water, right? Lucy looks terrified, so Aquarius adds, "It's okay, I won't let you drown." Lucy does not look particularly reassured, but she starts doing the motions. Aquarius lets her go, and is pleased when Lucy only sinks up to her chin, instead of all the way under as she expected. "Kick your legs a bit harder – there you go. You're doing good. Tell me when you get tired."

She gets the hang of it quickly, and beams in pride. It looks so cute that Aquarius gives her a kind pat on the head – making her sink all the way under.

"Crap," Aquarius pulls her up quickly. "There, there, you're fine."

Lucy isn't hurt, just indignant, and the lesson continues.

Once she's mastered treading water (as much as three year old can master anything), Aquarius moves on to actual swimming. She doesn't teach her the breaststroke or anything like that, but she teaches her a way of swimming that's natural for humans. Humans are naturally somewhat aquatic creatures; in fact, the small flaps of skin that are found between the fingers and toes are actually undeveloped, primitive webbing** (1)**. The way she teaches Lucy is better than any old method humans have come up with. Lucy's doing so well that Aquarius decides to challenge her.

She swims out to a deeper part of the pool, where she can be vertical; a human would have to tread to keep their head above water. Layla stands on the other side of the pool, waist deep in water.

"Alright Lucy, swim to your Mama," Aquarius instructs her, "Don't worry, if you start to go under, I'll get you."

"Okay, Aquarius!" Lucy chirps. Over the course of the lesson, Lucy has come to trust and love her just as much as she loves and trusts Cancer and Capricorn. Aquarius lets her go, and Lucy treads water perfectly.

"Come to Mama, Lucy-chan!" Layla says, holding her arms out encouragingly. Aquarius knows that she's nervous, but Aquarius has faith in Lucy, and even if she can't do it, the Spirit can be by her side in moments.

Layla's worries are completely unfounded. Lucy starts towards her mother, and Aquarius smiles in pride. Lucy's swimming like a fish. A very _fast_ fish. She reaches her mother in no time.

Aquarius smiles smugly. She's a darn good teacher, if she does say so herself. Maybe she should open up a swim school or something.

Layla drifts back with Lucy in her arms. She lounges on the underwater steps, and with a flick of her tail Aquarius is beside her. Aquarius lounges in the steps as well, still smug. She notices that Layla is giving her a soft, kind smile.

"What's up with you?" she says lazily, her tail swishing gently.

"Thank you," Layla says, "For the lesson. I know it took up a lot of your day and I appreciate that."

"Less than an hour will have passed in the Spirit World," she says dismissively.

"I still appreciate it. Thank you."

"Don't get used to it," Aquarius says sharply, "This 'lesson' is a one time thing. No more."

Layla smiles knowingly.

"Of course not."

Aquarius returns every Wednesday to give another lesson.

One day, the lessons will help Lucy survive being caught up in Aquarius' wave attacks. And far, far in the future, Lucy's friends are amazed when they see her swim.

"Holy crap, that's amazing Lucy!"

"Aye!"

"Way to go Luce!"

"Where did you learn to swim like that?"

Lucy just smiles nervously.

Aquarius would kill her if she told anyone where she learned to swim.

_~Star Child~_

**(1) **This is actually a true fact. According to what I know about the theory that this tidbit relates to, scientists think that we spent a nice portion of our evolutionary history by the seaside. We scrounged in the tide pools and swam in the shallows looking for shell fish. Some scientists actually theorize that a lot of our brainpower developed during this time, because shellfish are rich in the nutrients needed for brainpower. In order to help us swim, we developed webbed fingers and toes. The period of time this is thought to have happened in was geologically unstable – in other words, lots of volcanoes and earthquakes. That was what originally drove us to the seashore. When the region calmed down, we went back inland. There webbing was a hazard (image having flaps of skin catching on trees and rocks) so evolution got rid of it until we have only the vestigial bit we have today, which actually still helps us swim.

To my knowledge there is no fossil evidence for this, but scientists think the theory helps explain several things, including, but not limited to; webbed fingers and toes; crying and sweating (water and salt are valuable resources, unless you live next to an ocean); the average human can be taught to hold their breath for 20 minutes, as long as some marine mammals; and the fact that within minutes of birth, you can put a baby underwater and it will kick its legs and hold its breath. It may not actually swim, but it will damn well try. Most other baby land mammals don't have the faintest clue what to do with water. Some women actually GIVE BIRTH in water, on purpose, and the new born baby will swim to the surface. According to what I've heard, giving birth this way is supposed to be easier than giving birth traditionally.

Sorry for the long explanation, but I find human evolution legitimately fascinating.

_~Star Child~_

**I'm not as happy with this chapter as I usually am. I don't know what it's missing, but I don't like it as much as I liked the other two. Then again, I feel like it has a little bit more substance than chapter 2, so that's a plus. I also got to show off some! *wiggles in glee* I know a lot of stuff, and I love to share what I've learned, but I drive friends and family spare telling them things. My intellect and thought process are quite a bit higher than most of the people I know. I'm an intellectual, and most of my friends, while beautiful and amazing and smart, are not. So I like getting to show my knowledge off to people who aren't as annoyed with it as the are. Sorry, but get used to it darlings. If you like, I can tell you about how women's eyesight is naturally better than men****'****s, ****along with all the gory details?**

**Also, I know that the Lucy we know is not snobbish or selfish, but my head canon is that is largely due to the death of her mother and the subsequent neglect from her father. I'm of the opinion that few little girls can go through being rich, surrounded by doting servants, and having a loving stay at home mom without coming out at least a little self centered. I view young Lucy as being a little self centered – encouraged by her father, enabled by the servants, but put under control by her mother. Once Layla dies and her father ignores her, her only friends are the servants and the Spirits, and she becomes the Lucy we know now.**


	4. Chapter 4

** Tada! Next chapter, nearly two months later! Amazing what the combination of ADD, Finals, normal schoolwork, and video games do to slow down your progress, isn't it?**

** I don't have much to say in this AN, just want to once again thank you guys for your reviews and the amazing response to this story! There is one review I'd like to address, from _RayvnAshes2_, which contained the following:**

** _"Lucy's pretty well-spoken for a three year old, but Layla did say she was smart. Oh well."_**

**Um, all I have to say in response to that is *hangs head* I'm so sorry! I have no younger siblings, and I'm the youngest cousin in my family. All I have for comparison is my second cousin, who just recently graduated from the first grade, and her little brother, who I think starts school this year (2014). I only see them on Christmas and Thanksgiving, so I don't have much experience with children to go off of! I'm well aware that Lucy is a bit too articulate for her age, but I don't know how to dumb it down. If it comforts you, you'll only have to deal with her above average speech for this chapter and the next!**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: K+ to T_

_Warnings: Violence, Snakes_

_Summary: When Lucy goes to play in the garden, Capricorn is always watching over her. And it's good thing he does._

_Word Count: 2380_

_~Star Child~_

Layla rarely gets out of bed anymore; she's too sick.

However, this does not change the fact that she has an active four year old, who loves playing in the garden and gets easily bored sitting at her mother's bedside. When she is well enough, Layla takes her daughter outside herself, but if she cannot get out of bed that day then one of the servants takes her out. Were this any other family, a servant would be sufficient, but they are the Heartphilias, and they have made many enemies while making their fortune; enemies that would love to take out the sole heir of the Heartphilia fortune. A mere servant couldn't protect Lucy if someone hired a Mercenary or Assassin Guild to kill her.

It is Capricorn who suggests a solution.

A little known fact about Celestial Spirit Keys is that as long as the Key is touching skin, the Key's Spirit can hear the holder's voice, regardless of whether the holder is their Summoner or not. Although this fact seems insignificant, it is actually vitally important to the way the Keys work. If a Spirit cannot hear the Summoner calling for them, they cannot answer the summons, and if they could only hear their Summoner, then they could not make new Contracts. If they give Lucy his Key, Capricorn proposes, he could detect any danger to Lucy and save her. He's strong enough to come through the Gate on his own, after all.

Layla thought it was a good idea, and Jude agreed. Capricorn's Key was put on a string, and whenever Lucy went outside it was slipped around her neck. The Gold Key glinted in the sunlight while she played in the sandbox, bouncing against her collarbone as she skipped through the gardens.

In the Spirit World, Capricorn sits straight up in surprise, before sinking back down into the pillows of the couch. He hasn't quite gotten used to hearing Lucy's voice at random times yet. Leo looks at him curiously, and Scorpio sniggers at him. Many of his fellow Spirits do not understand his devotion to Layla and Lucy. He knows some of the Silver Keys actively mock him for it behind his back. He doesn't really care; they don't know Layla and Lucy the way he does. If they did, the would feel the exact same way. Those two are impossible not to love.

Capricorn leans back into the cushions and focuses on Lucy's voice. Apparently she's playing Mage Princess. Mage Princess is, of course, better than regular Princess, because Lucy gets to use 'magic' to rescue herself _and_ the Prince.

"I Summon you!"

And of course the Mage Princess is a Celestial Spirit Mage.

"Kill the evil monster! _Minny!_ You're not scary! Be more eviler!"

Apparently Minny, one of the maids, is watching Lucy today. The little girl probably has a good reason for the complaint; Minny is 5'1" and timid, not really monster material. He listens to the one-sided debate about what makes a monster scary. Clawed fingers and deep, growling voices are a must, he discovers, as is stomping heavily. At some point during the game Lucy finds a stick and uses it as a sword. Capricorn hopes that the servant can keep her from poking her own eye out. Lucy narrates the entire game for herself and Minny, which Capricorn appreciates because it can be confusing listening to one side of a conversation. Lucy's games are fraught with imaginary dangers such as giant evil ladybugs and obstacles such as the Mountain of Doom. Minny seems to cycle through being an evil monster, a heroic sidekick, and a damsel in distress, depending on what Lucy tells her to do. Lucy's imagination is incredible, and Capricorn thinks she could be a wonderful author one day.

Capricorn is distracted when Cancer sits down beside him. Cancer sees the distant look on his face and asks, "Is Lucy out, ebi?" Capricorn nods, so Cancer asks, "What's she doing, ebi?"

"At the moment? Trying to convince the Queen of the Star Bats to help her slay the Great Lava Dragon. No, wait, now she and the Star Bat Queen are climbing the Holy Mountain to pull the Celestial Sword out of the stone. Oh, ouch, she just slipped in the mud."

"Is she alright, ebi?"

"I think she's fine. She's very upset though."

"Little girls aren't fond of dirt, ebi."

Capricorn laughs, because it's so true. As much as Lucy loves playing outside, she _hates_ getting dirty. Unlike little boys, who generally _target_ mud puddles, Lucy stays away from mud and dirt, preferring to play among the trees and the flowers. He can hear her crying loudly and complaining about her mud-stained skirt.

"The maid just picked her up. They're going inside. I can't sense Lucy anymore, just the maid. Now I can't sense her either, I think she put the Key down," Capricorn reports.

Soon the conversation moves away from Lucy and onto other things. The twelve Zodiacs chat about inconsequential things; mainly their Summoners. Believe it or not, it was boring in the Spirit World. It's not like there aren't things to do, it's just that when you're relatively immortal those things get old fast. Sometimes the only new things to talk about were humans. Taurus complained over and over about how nobody had found his Key since his last Summoner died. Aquarius leaned against Scorpio's side and went into raptures over him every couple of minutes. Cancer and Scorpio got into an age old argument about whether crabs or scorpions had better pincers. The Mother Pisces cooed over the Son Pisces. Sagittarius and Libra started up a lively debate about something nobody else could follow. The Gemini twins were conspiring to play a prank on their rather uptight Summoner. Aries was timidly telling Leo about her new Summoner, Karen. Virgo went from group to group asking for punishment, all of whom denied her, Capricorn watches them quietly, amused. In the human world, they might be enemies, but here they are all friends.

Suddenly, he's aware of Lucy's voice again. His attention fades from the Spirit World, and he focuses on the child's voice. He wonders how much time has passed in the human world. He thinks it's the same day, because Lucy's talking to Minny, and the servants usually switch off. Lucy eagerly jumps back into playtime.

"Minny! Let's play hide and seek!" the little girl shrieks. There is a pause, and then in reply to something Minny said, Lucy exclaims, "I wanna seek! You hide, Minny, and I'll find you, like, super fast!" Another pause, and Lucy screams in outrage, "I would never peek! Go hide, Minny!" Capricorn chuckles at the little girl. Then she begins 'counting' and he has to smother his laughter.

"One, two, three, four, um... A? No, that's an alphabet... Six, seven? Twelve, nine, eleven! READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!"

With that, Lucy sets off to find her maid. She looks high and low, chattering all the while. She looks in the gardener's shed, behind bushes, even up a tree at one point. She finally finds Minny hiding behind a bench. The little girl shrieks in delight.

"I found you, I found you! Yay! Now it's your turn to find me! Go count by the tree!" A few moments pass by, during which Capricorn assumes they return to the starting point, and then he hears Lucy giggling madly. She 'whispers' about potential hiding spots as she races past them. Then she exclaims, "That's a perfect spot! She'll never find me there!"

Lucy settles into her perfect hiding spot. He can hear her giggling 'quietly' as she waits for Minny to find her. Then–

"Oh! A snakey. Hello snakey. You're a _little_ snakey," Lucy says, her tone one of mild surprise and curiosity.

Capricorn tenses. A snake could be dangerous. But Lucy said it was a little snake, so it's probably just a grass snake – harmless.

Lucy seems delighted with her discovery. "Minny! Come see what I found!" She keeps calling until Minny finds her. "See Minny? It's a pretty little snakey – red and black with those pretty yellow rings between them!"

Capricorn's blood runs cold.

_Red on black, friend to Jack._

_ Red on yellow, kill a fellow._

"Minny, what are you doing? Minny – _Minny! Aaahhhh!_"

Before she even finishes screaming, Capricorn is materializing in front of her. He is greeted with the sight of tiny, timid Minny standing protectively in front of Lucy, her arm held defensively in front of her body. Dangling from her forearm is a small snake patterned with red, yellow, and black rings. It's exactly what he feared.

A coral snake.

Coral snakes are tiny, pretty snakes. They are difficult to identify as venomous, and have an alarming tendency to cross paths with humans. Their pretty patterning and small size has enticed many a child to pick up the snake – children just like Lucy. Their venom is a highly potent neurotoxin, and they don't even need to puncture skin to envenomate their victim; just a scratch from one of their small fangs can kill a grown man in a few hours. You don't even know you've been bitten – you go to bed and don't wake up in the morning.

Lucy is sprawled on the ground, looking up at Minny with wide eyes. Capricorn suspects that Lucy went to pick up the snake, and Minny knocked her out of the way, taking the strike that was meant for the little girl. Capricorn is thankful – the dose of venom would have been almost instantly fatal for Lucy. Minny is an adult, and therefore has a few hours to get to the hospital and receive anti-venom. He moves forward, intending to remove the snake from her arm.

The snake sees him coming and detaches its fangs from Minny's arm, dropping back to the ground. It coils up and hisses at him. Capricorn narrows his eyes and his tail flicks with aggression. He could kill the snake, but Lucy and Minny need to get out of here, and killing the snake would take precious time. With that in mind, he decides that his priority is to get Lucy and Minny out of here. He reaches out and grasps Minny's good arm. Her face is white with fear as they slowly back away from the snake. A foot, 2 feet, 3 feet – it's not enough distance. The snake could still strike. Capricorn chances a glance at Lucy and finds her staring wide eyed at the snake, seemingly in shock.

"Lucy," Capricorn whispers, returning his gaze to the snake, "Grab my hand, Lucy." She doesn't stir. "_Lucy!_" He's spoken too harshly. He startles her, and she jumps, letting out a loud wail. It disturbs the already tense snake.

It lunges for Lucy, mouth gaping wide open to show fangs glinting in the light.

It never reaches the little girl.

With a snarl, Capricorn lets go of Minny and steps smoothly in front of Lucy. In the blink of an eye, he has caught the snake by the throat. It hisses and writhes in his gasp. Coldly he grasps the snake's head and twists. It comes straight off with a spray of blood. The body still writhes in his grip. Disgusted, he throws the corpse off into the bushes, shortly followed by the still snapping head. He turns to the humans he protected, and finds Minny staring at him in horror. He realizes that there is blood coating the front and sleeves of his tailcoat. He turns away from Minny and crouches down in front of Lucy.

"Come on Lucy-chan," he murmurs, holding his arms out, "Let's go home. Let's go back to Mama."

"No!" Lucy shrieks, recoiling away from him, her eyes fixated on the red stains covering his tailcoat.

Capricorn is at a loss. Normally Lucy adores him. A complete refusal to go near him has never happened before. He looks at Minny, wondering what to do, only to find her taking deep breaths to calm herself. She'll be of no help. He glances back at Lucy, sobbing and screaming, and knows there's no time to calm her down – they have to get Minny to a hospital _now_. With that in mind, he shrugs off his tailcoat, which he figures is setting Lucy off, and picks up the little girl. She screams and struggles, and he has to hold on tight to avoid dropping her.

"Shh, Lucy. We're going back to Mama. Back to Mama and Papa," He murmurs in an effort to calm her. He mutters to Minny to follow him, and they set off for home at a trot. Their pace is dictated by Minny, who is slowed by the venom, but perhaps this is a good thing, for Lucy calms down on the way there. Her screams are reduced to hiccuping sobs, and her struggles are reduced to resting her cheek against the lapel of Capricorn's white dress shirt. When they reach the mansion, all it takes is a single shout from Capricorn, and they are surrounded by servants trying to take Lucy and calling an ambulance for Minny (powered by Mages who are trained in both driving it and administering emergency medical care).

Capricorn refuses to let go of the little girl though, and he personally delivers her to her mother. She falls asleep in Layla's arms, exhausted by the events of the day. Minny receives anti-venom in time, and lives to care for Lucy another day. Lucy herself recovers with an amazing vitality, playing outside again in just a day. She has developed a rather justified fear of snakes, though.

As an adult, that fear has mellowed into mere dislike, along with a healthy respect of what they can do. Lucy figures it's because of an encounter with a snake she had when she was little. She doesn't remember much of it – she was too young when it happened – just reaching for a red and black blur, and then being knocked to the round. They told her she was saved by one of her mother's Spirits, but she can't remember his face. Sometimes though, if she tries really hard, she can remember a tall figure standing before her, ready to protect and defend.

_~Star Child~_

** Everything I wrote about coral snakes is true. These snakes are native to North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. They're small snakes, characterized by their patterning; a thick red band, followed by a thin yellow one, then a thick black band, then a second thin yellow, then another thick red band. They have small fangs that can't penetrate a leather glove, but their venom is a neurotoxin that paralyzes the muscles surrounding the lungs. When first bitten, it doesn't hurt, which causes the unaware to choose not to seek treatment. In a few hours they suffocate to death.**

** I did take some artistic license. Coral snakes avoid humans 99 percent of the time, and when it dropped off Minny it would have fled rather than bite again. They are unusual though, in that rather than bite and release, they bite and hold on (which is why it was dangling from Minny), pumping you full of venom. Children do like to pick them up, since they're not aggressive at first glance and they do look pretty, but if you try to pick them up they'll bite immediately. Little boys are especially vulnerable.**

** The most dangerous thing about them though is that they bite so rarely. Since it's so unusual to get a bite, they companies that produce anti-venoms no longer produce anti-venom for coral snakes, since it's no longer 'profitable'. Jerks. What this means is that if you get bit, you gonna die. If you're in an area where there are coral snakes, watch out! Keep an eye out for them, and keep an eye on young children and pets! Stay safe!**

** Don't forget to review!**

**Vamp**


	5. Chapter 5

** Hey guys! Vamp back with another chapter!**

** So I got some very nice reviews, which made me happy :) A lot of people were apparently interested by the information about coral snakes, which was gratifying. Also, someone called me Vamp-senpai! Reaction? *squealflophappyfaceOhMyGodIloveyou* To sum things up, I was really happy.**

** Also, the schedule of updating has changed – there actually is a schedule now. There should be an update every three months. What I'm doing is I spend a month working on this, then a month working on my Harry Potter fanfic _Wings of a Dragon, _and then I spend a month working on my original comic _Wing__é__d Magic_ (Look for that on Deviant Art! The first chapter should be up sometime this year!). If I'm ahead of schedule, then I'll start the next thing in the cycle if I feel like it. I'm really hopeful that this will be the most efficient way to work on all my little projects. School work takes precedence over all of this, unfortunately. So the next time you can expect to see a chapter is in November.**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: T_

_Warnings: Character Death, Mild Language_

_Summary: When Layla dies, Capricorn loses himself. But it is Lucy who brings him back._

_Words: 2733_

_~Star Child~_

It was inevitable.

Layla's chronic illness was too strong for her to fight. She was dying, and everyone knew it.

Towards the end, on one of her better days, she had gathered her Spirits to explain what would become of them when she was gone. They were going to be split up, each given to a different Summoner, who would hold them until Lucy was ready to claim her heritage. She had also tried to gently prepare them for her death.

Capricorn had thought he was prepared. He had had Summoners die before. He knew it was coming.

But as he stands in the cemetery, watching the ceremony progress, he thinks the agony he feels in his heart is greater than anything he's felt before.

He is in the third row, standing beside Aquarius, Cancer, and Crux. His new Summoner, Zoldeo (a man he _hateshateshates_, who is _not_ his Summoner, because his Summoner is Layla _IloveyouIloveyou, whydidyougivemeaway, whydidyouleaveme?_) is in the row behind him, along with the two other Summoners, a local mage and Lucy's tutor. Zoldeo tried to stop him from coming, but it was in Layla's will for them to come – she knew how other people sometimes viewed Spirits. He would have come anyway, Capricorn knows, because there's no way he would have missed his last chance to say goodbye to Layla.

He listens blankly to the local priest (so _gladgladglad _that he is local, because he _knew_ Layla, he _knewknewknew_ her, and he is crying even as he recites scripture) while he stares at her casket. It is an open casket ceremony, showing Layla's flawless face to the sea of mourners. Death has not robbed her of her beauty; her face is soft and white, her beautiful hair in her favorite elaborate pin up. She looks serene and pure as snow, but something is _wrongwrongwrong. _He was mistaken before, Capricorn decides; death HAS robbed her of her beauty, because Layla's face is _never_ that calm, _nevernevernever _that blank and emotionless, it's always smiling, always laughing, always happy, but it's _not_!

_Get up!_ He wants to scream. _Get up, get up, get up! Smile and laugh, tell us to stop crying and wipe our tears like you always do! Wake up, Layla! Wake up!_ Capricorn can almost see it, his beloved Layla sitting up from the sprays of flowers and smiling at him – her smile that said '_don't cry, because I'm here and I love you_'. He tries to smile back at her, to speak her name, but for some reason he cannot force his lips to form the words.

A hand tries to slip into his, to open the clenched fist, and Capricorn starts, his body jerking. He opens his hand obligingly, and he recognizes the hand that opens with his. For a moment he distantly marvels that Aquarius is trying to comfort him. He tries to turn to look at her, but he can't take his eyes off of Layla.

Suddenly Capricorn realizes that he is trembling, shaking violently. His ears are pinned back against his head, and his teeth are bared in a grimace of grief, clenched to avoid letting out a single noise of mourning. Some slip out anyway. Tears are streaming down his face, dripping off his beard, and behind his black sunglasses his goat-pupils are shrunk into thin black lines.

He tries to get a hold of himself. Capricorn would be ashamed to let Layla see hims like this. It would have worried her (worried her so much, _sososo_ much, because she _cared_ about them, _loved_ them, and Capricorn _hatedhatedhated_ to see her distressed) to see him in this state. He manages to stop his violent shaking, but he can't stop letting out bleats of mourning, because Layla is _deaddeaddead_, _gone_ (_whydidyouleaveme?_) and what was the point of living if Layla is gone?

Logically, he knows that Layla is in a better place, that she's no longer in pain, and as a Celestial Spirit he knows that eventually her soul will enter this world again. But that doesn't make him feel any _better_, because it doesn't change the fact that Layla is _gone_. Even when her soul enters the world again, it won't be Layla; it'll be a stranger with a similar personality, with a different body and different life experiences, and absolutely no memories of Capricorn. The only thing left of his Layla in the stranger will be the imprints that the most important events in her life left on her soul. Even if she would remember him in her next life, her soul won't reappear for at least a hundred years. Layla is well and truly gone.

Absently Capricorn notes that the priest is no longer at the podium behind Layla's casket. Instead, there is a man he's never seen before. He realizes that the people who knew Layla best are giving speeches (he knows that he should go up there, _whowouldknowherbetterthanme_, but he just_ can't_). It's strange, because he can see the man's lips moving and sobs shaking his shoulders, but he hears nothing. The cloud of grief and numbness surrounding him is too thick to allow anything through.

The man leaves, and the priest retakes the podium. He says something, then waits a moment. Capricorn watches blankly. After a moment, the man motions off to the side, and two men approach, closing the casket and preparing to lower it into the ground. Capricorn closes his eyes. This is it. Layla is leaving him forever. Somehow, he feels nothing. He is numb.

Then, a sound penetrates the cloud of grief.

Someone is crying.

"Uaaah! M-mama!"

Lucy.

Capricorn opens his eyes.

Suddenly, sound is filling his ears. Birds chirping, people crying, but there is only one sound he cares about.

Lucy is crying, sobbing, wailing. Calling for Layla, for her mother with all the fear and grief of a motherless child.

Capricorn spots her in the first row, beside her father. She is crying her little heart out, wailing at the top of her lungs. Her arms are wrapped around her father's leg, gripping the black fabric with her fists. The man makes no attempt to comfort his daughter – he doesn't pick her up, shush her, or even pat her head. He just stares at the casket with the same blank despair that Capricorn had a moment ago.

Despairing of receiving comfort from her father, Lucy lets go of his leg and blinks away the tears clouding her vision. Desperately, she looks around for someone to hold onto, but instead of seeing a friendly face, she sees the white box bearing her mother disappearing into the ground.

"NO!" the little girl screams, "Give back Mama!" To Capricorn's utter horror, Lucy dashes straight to the open grave, screaming for her mother. One of the men lowering the casket lets go of the pulley system and catches the little girl around the middle, lifting her up into the air. Lucy struggles and fights, reaching for the grave.

"No!" she sobs, "Don't leave, Mama!"

The man holds Lucy tighter, and gestures to her father for him to take the child. He doesn't move. This goes on for several minutes, until finally Capricorn himself steps up to take the child. But before he can take more than a step forward, he is stopped by the grip Zoldeo has on his tail.

"Don't you dare disturb that funeral," the man hisses.

"What are you talking about?" Capricorn says incredulously, "I'm just going to go get Lucy."

"No, you aren't," Zoldeo says, glaring at him, "Stay. Here."

Capricorn snorts dismissively and turns to retrieve Lucy, only to find that a servant has taken her. He settles resentfully back into place.

Capricorn's eyes wander the funeral, and he finds that there is not a dry eye among the seas of people who have attended to give Layla their goodbyes. Capricorn realizes that, in the throes of his grief, he has forgotten that there are other people who are mourning Layla; he is not alone in his sorrow. Worst of all, he forgot that despite Layla's passing, there are people to whom he has a responsibility; his new Summoner, the other Spirits, and above all, Lucy. Capricorn knows that he has failed in his duty to her, and for that he feels a great sense of shame.

The funeral is over now, and people are beginning to disperse. Capricorn, however, stays. He has a duty to make sure Lucy is okay.

The servant from before approaches Layla's husband, Lucy on her hip. The little girl is still crying, but more quietly now, the hurt of being ignored soothed by the kind servant. The woman tries to get the father's attention.

"Sir?" she says. The man does not respond. She tries again. "Sir? Your daughter?" She tries to indicate the child. After a couple of tries, the man turns to her. His eyes are cloudy and his expression unfocused. He looks as though he has just awakened from a long dream.

"Ah, yes, Lucy," the man says vaguely, "Take her to her room. She needs to learn that her behavior is not acceptable."

"But Sir, don't you think her behavior is excusable, considering the circumstances?"

Firmly, but not unkindly, the man says, "Take Lucy to her room. Her mother will be up to discuss this with her shortly."

Capricorn's eyes widen, and the maid looks as alarmed as he feels. Uncertainly, she says, "Sir, Miss Layla is dead. You just watched her funeral, remember?"

With absolutely no warning, he turns on her. Voice trembling with rage, he snarls, "Take Lucy to her room, and leave her there. When you're done, pack your bags. You're fired."

Terrified, the maid runs to do as he says. Capricorn is shocked. Surely the man isn't going to leave his daughter alone at a time like this? Layla's husband had always been a shrewd man, but never a cruel one. He decides that the man has obviously snapped.

Capricorn moves to confront him. Even if he's grieving for the loss of his wife, he still has a responsibility to his daughter, and Capricorn intends to make him realize that.

Before he can, Zoldeo steps in front of him. Capricorn snorts; he's getting quite irritated with this human's interference.

"Get out of my way," Capricorn tells the human, a measured amount of anger audible in his tone.

"No," Zoldeo hisses, "I'm not going to let you disturb this poor, grieving family!"

"Disturb!" Capricorn exclaims, "I'm not disturbing–"

"Gate of the Goat, close!"

Capricorn is so shocked by the forced gate closure (weak as it is) that before he can think to resist, he is re-materializing in the Spirit World. If Capricorn was any less of a gentleman, he would be swearing. Although she had the power for it, Layla had never used a forced gate closure on any of her Spirits – if the Spirit wanted to stay, she would let them stay, regardless of her personal feelings. After so long with such a kind Summoner, he had forgotten to guard against it.

When he finishes materializing, Capricorn dashes for one of the scrying pools they use to view the human world. He has to check on Lucy. Surely the maid hasn't truly locked Lucy in her room, surely she hasn't obeyed that cruel order. She was already fired, what did she have to lose by being kind?

Capricorn collapses on his knees beside a pool, scaring off two Canis Minor who had been hoping to use it.

"Show me Lucy Heartphilia," he requests desperately of the pool. It complies, and what he feared is confirmed. Lucy is alone in her room, her face buried in plush pink pillows, giving great, heartbreaking sobs. He watches helplessly, tears streaming down his own face from the cruelty of humans. He hopes against hope that someone will come for Lucy, that she won't be left alone to suffer like this. No one comes.

Capricorn is desperate. He can't just let this happen. He has to help her.

"Show me my Key!" he tells the pool. The image that shows in the pool makes his heart jump. Zoldeo has left his Key alone, sitting on the coffee table in his house. Capricorn has a chance.

He stands up and touches the Gate with his magic. It pushes his essence back, obeying the ancient pact that created it and the Keys. But the Gate can still be opened. Capricorn gathers his magic and shoves the Gate, blasting it wide open.

Just as planned, he materializes next to his Key.

He can hear Zoldeo rattling around in the room next to his, so he is silent as he possibly can be as he goes through the front door. Once he is out of the house, he is still slow and quiet until the house is a decent ways away. Then he breaks into a sprint, running for the mansion that Lucy is trapped in.

He shoves open the grand double doors, the strong oak no challenge for a determined Zodiac Spirit. He takes the stairs two at a time, running down the halls he knows like the back of his hand. Capricorn only slows when he reaches Lucy's room. He gently knocks on the door.

"Lucy? Can I come in?" Capricorn calls, keeping his tone gentle and kind. When he receives no response, he opens the door a crack. Lucy is still awake, and still crying into her pillow. Making a decision, Capricorn slips inside, shutting the door behind him. Quietly, he sits on the bed and puts his hand on Lucy's shoulder. She looks up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Capico?" she asks, her little voice broken and sad. Before Capricorn can say anything, Lucy is throwing herself into his arms. He catches her automatically, holding her close to his body as he's learned to do over the years. Lucy starts talking and sobbing at the same time, and he can't understand a word of it, only the occasional 'Mama'. Capricorn makes instinctive shushing noises, rubbing Lucy's back. In the middle of her unintelligible sobbing, Lucy gives a great wail and says "–and now Mama's gone and Daddy hates me and so do the maids and I don't wanna live here anymore!"

"What?" Capricorn says in disbelief, "Lucy, nobody here hates you. Your Mama may be gone, but she loved you very much, and so does your Papa. He's just a little confused right now. Why do you think they hate you? Did someone tell you that?"

"No," Lucy sobs, "But I'm in trouble with Papa and the maids left me all alone!"

Capricorn is at a loss for what to do. Lucy is only four years old, her birthday still a few months away. How do you explain to a little girl that her father has gone temporarily mad with grief? Lucy is still so young and innocent...

He settles for saying, "Just because you're in trouble doesn't mean people hate you. Everyone's just a little confused right now. I promise everything will go back to normal soon."

Lucy doesn't reply; she just goes back to sobbing. Capricorn struggles to soothe her. He doesn't have much experience with children beyond Lucy herself. He worries that he isn't doing a good job of comforting her – Lucy is still crying. She does seem to take comfort in his presence, though, which in turn comforts him. He holds her, rocking her back and forth, humming and singing. Eventually, Lucy cries herself out. Her eyelids droop with exhaustion. Soon, she drops off, having cried herself to sleep.

Capricorn waits to make sure she's truly asleep, before slipping off the bed and laying Lucy on it. Tenderly, he tucks the covers around the precious bundle. He looks at her tear stained face and realizes something. Lucy's little face holds almost the same serenity that Layla's corpse held. There's a very important difference though. Lucy's face holds the warm serenity of _life_, beautiful and perfect as can be. He thinks of the cold, hard serenity that overtook Layla's youthful face, and shudders. The serenity of death took her too soon. He kisses Lucy's forehead.

"I won't let that happen to you," Capricorn whispers to her, "I'll always protect you."

He didn't know that this moment would be the last time he saw Lucy for over a decade.

_~Star Child~_

** So, I discovered two things while writing this chapter. First, I either have a heart of stone, or I can't write sad chapters, because this chapter did not feel sad to me at all. PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR OPINION ON THIS, SO IF IT'S THE LATER I CAN WORK ON IT. Second, I think I found some continuity errors while researching this chapter. Supposedly, Layla gave her Spirits up before Lucy was born. But if you watch the anime, you see that in the scene where Layla gave up her Spirits, she was in a mansion. But while she was pregnant with Lucy, their company was just getting off the ground. You can see it in one of the scenes of the anime/manga. Also, Layla died in the year 777. Before she died, Jude (Lucy's dad) was supposed to be pretty normal. But you see in the scene where Lucy tries to give him a rice ball, he was a total ass. Lucy was supposed to be ten when her mother died, but in the scene she looked much younger. That could just be my interpretation, but the thing with Layla giving up her Spirits before she had Lucy is definitely a continuity error.**

** I already had the chapter written when I looked this up (I was checking my facts) so I decided that rather than make Lucy 10 like she is (supposedly) in canon, I would keep her the way I wrote her, which is 4 years and ten months. I guess that officially makes this story mildly AU *shrugs*.**

** PLEASE NOTE I HAVE TWO REQUESTS OF YOU. When you review, tell me if you found this chapter sad or not. If you don't, the quality of my writing may go down. Secondly, when you review, please give me one of Lucy's Spirits you'd like to see a chapter with, and maybe a suggestion for what goes on in the chapter. I've run out of ideas for anyone other than Crux and Taurus. Thanks my loves!**

**Vamp**


	6. Chapter 6

** Hello darlings! It's me, the fabulous Vamp! I have chapter 6 for you! *waves around some stapled papers***

** So you guys remember my 3 month schedule? Turns out that works great for fanfiction, but not so great for artistic works. My comic, _Wingéd Magic_, did not get uploaded last month as planned. I did finish some character portraits for it, but I didn't upload them either. I was lazy, I think. But the other problem is that artistic talent is hard to turn on and off. I'm actually still drawing things for the comic, even though this month is for _Star Child_. Apparently, while I can transition easily between fandoms, it's not so easy to transition between drawing dragons and writing about Fairy Tail. And I think that difficulty in transitioning bled into the chapter. I don't like this chapter – it feels very very forced to me. But I can't keep agonizing over it forever, so it's getting published even though I'm not entirely satisfied with it.**

** So in other news, my birthday was on Monday :) My family was wonderful and got me gift cards to bookstores and video games. I'm actually passing up playing Pokemon SoulSilver and Pokemon White to write this for you guys :D**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: K_

_Warnings: None_

_Summary: Crux is Lucy's friend, teacher, and 'Grandpa'. But he is also her first Spirit._

_Words: 2311_

_~Star Child~_

The room is musty with the smell of old books, softly illuminated by lights that shine like stars. It is a large room, taking up most of the building it resides in, only leaving space for a kitchen and bathroom on the first floor, and a bedroom loft on the third. The entire house whispers of magic.

The library belongs to Crux, and is the center of his knowledge. It is where all the things he knows are stored, ready for him to access with merely a thought.

Crux himself is at his desk, alternately sleeping and working. He has learned something new, and needs to record it in his library, so that he will always remember it. He does this whenever he learns something new. At the moment, however, he is sleeping upright in his chair.

The spine of one of the books creaks, and Crux wakes with a start, the bubble from his cross-shaped nose popping. Crux wipes his nose and picks up the quill again.

He is getting old, Crux reflects. When he was young, he could work for days without sleep. Now, though, he falls asleep at the most inopportune of times, leaving him and the other Spirits to pretend nothing happened. The other Spirits were kindly tolerant of his issues; everyone knows he only has another five years in the Spirit World, ten at most.

This is one of the reasons Crux works so hard, despite the interruptions of sleep. He has to have this library ready for the next Crux.

When a Spirit dies, their energy disperses back to the stars that make up their constellation. Once it has all collected in the stars, the Spirit is reborn in infant form. It is a bit similar to the reincarnation that humans go through; the body is different and the memories are gone, but the 'soul' – or energy in this case – is the same. After being 'born' again, they have to learn to do everything the previous Spirit could do. This was why Crux worked so much; the library needed to be up to date for his successor.

That thought reminds Crux that he needs to update his own information. With a thought, the book he's writing in closes and floats off to its shelf. A much larger book titled _Crux_ floats over. The book opens itself to a page with Crux's picture. Crux shakily picks up his quill and goes to the section titles 'Summoners'. He feebly writes _Current Summoner: Lucy Heartphilia, age 10._

Crux places the quill down and remembers. Lucy had just recently become his Summoner; just two hours ago in the Spirit World, which was a little over a week in the human world. Lucy's magic tutor, his previous Summoner, decided that Lucy was ready for the responsibility of having a Spirit, and turned... him over... to her. He... is Lucy's... first... Spirit...

Crux's body slumps as he falls asleep with a snore. For several long minutes, his soft snores fill the room undisturbed.

Then, he wakes with a start.

The Gate is opening – Lucy is Summoning him for the first time.

Crux is excited – he is Lucy's first ever Summoning! It's easy to tell that this is her first time, too. The ride through the Gate is very bumpy, throwing his essence up and down. Crux does his best to smooth it out with his magic.

It takes a little longer than normal, due to Lucy's inexperience, but Crux rematerializes in the Human World. He is expecting to find himself in the open tent that Lucy and her tutor use to practice Magic, but instead he finds himself in a room that he does not recognize. It is filled with the paraphernalia of young girls everywhere; there are several large dollhouses, and the walls are plastered with a combination of children's drawings and posters of popular singers. He only looks at these for a second, as his eyes are drawn to the girl in the room.

Lucy's body is held near-perfectly in the stance taught to new Summoners, in order to help them channel their magic through the Gate. Her foot is slightly off stance, making the channeling of Summoning Magic a little more difficult for a beginner, but the determination in her eyes more than makes up for it. She has stopped wearing her hair in the pigtails of her childhood, but has retained her fondness for pretty skirts.

Lucy goes to drop out of the stance, but wavers, obviously unsure what to do. After a moment, though, she drops into a more comfortable stance, placing his Key into her pocket. She bites her lip nervously.

"Hello," she says shyly, her hands toying with the hem of her skirt. In her eyes, though, there is a bright glimmer of excitement.

"Hello, Lucy," Crux greets her kindly, "It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you again as well," Lucy responds automatically, the manners that have been drilled into her rising to the surface.

Crux considers commenting on the absence of her tutor, but decides against it. Instead, he asks, "Why have you Summoned me? What do you need?"

"Oh, right!" Lucy exclaims, her eyes widening, "I need your help! My tutor said that you're a knowledge Spirit, and that you know everything. I was hoping you could help me with my homework." The young girl pouts. "Math is hard."

Crux's brows knit together in anxiety. "Ms. Lucy, I apologize, but I do not know everything. I am a master of history, not mathematics. I mainly work with the history of the Spirit World. I cannot help you."

Lucy's bright, eager face falls. The excitement in her eyes dims into disappointment. Crux instantly feels bad.

"Oh," Lucy says in a small, sad voice, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with something that you weren't meant to do. You may go home now if you want to." The young girl looks as if she's about to cry.

Crux looks at her trembling lower lip and knows that if he leaves now, he would feel like the worst person in all of history. He sweats a little as he thinks of a way to calm her.

"What about your tutor?" he asks, trying to hide his anxiety, "Can't they help you?"

Lucy sadly shakes her head. "I don't want to get him in trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"The last one got fired," Lucy explains, "I didn't understand long division, so I asked for help, but when Papa found out he fired her. He said that if I didn't understand it the first time, then the tutor wasn't doing her job. She lost her house because she couldn't pay for it anymore, and the social workers took her kids." Lucy looks up at him with big, shining brown eyes. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt like that because of me."

Crux's resistance melts like ice. Lucy's eyes are full of sorrow and determination, and through them he can see a pure soul that is full of kindness. Lucy genuinely wants to protect her tutors.

"I suppose I can help you," Crux agrees. He can probably puzzle through this. It's not like Lucy would be studying complex algebra or anything – she's only ten years old, after all.

Lucy's entire face lights up with joy. "Great!" she exclaims, scampering over to her antique, expensive desk, "We're studying negatives and I don't get them at all!"

"Well," Crux says as he joins her at the desk, floating a little lower than he normally would, "Do you know what a negative is?"

"The tutor says that it's a number that's less than zero. But that doesn't make any sense!" Lucy crosses her arms and glares stubbornly at the papers on her desk. "You can't have anything less than zero! Zero is nothing! You can't have less than nothing!"

"It's all theoretical, Lucy-chan," Crux assures her, putting a feeble hand on her head, "You just have to pretend that it's real."

Crux pulls Lucy's math homework to him and reads the first problem. -9 +10 =? Hmm, that... shouldn't... be... hard...

"Crux-san? Crux-san? Crux-san?! CRUX-SAN!"

Crux awakens to Lucy's yell and fingers snapping in front of his face. The expression on his Summoner's face is a mixture of annoyance and concern.

"Are you alright, Crux-san?"  
Crux smiles sheepishly, hoping he wasn't out for long. "My apologies, Lucy-chan. Let's move on to this problem, hmm?"

Lucy picks up her pencil and looks at him expectantly. Crux launches into his explanation. "A negative number is a bit like subtracting, okay? You can rearrange the problem to make it something you're familiar with." Crux picks up a spare pencil and writes on a piece of scrap paper. "We can turn '-9 + 10' into '10 – 9', see? And what does that give us?"

"One!" Lucy cheers.

"Correct!" Crux praises. He looks at the next problem and sees that it is also an addition problem. He feels another bout of sleepiness coming on and manages to get out, "Why don't... you try this one... on your own..."

This time he wakes to Lucy poking him repeatedly in the side. She tells him that she is done, and Crux picks up her paper to check it over. She has gotten the majority of the problems right, using the method he showed her. He shows her the right way to do the questions she missed, and works through them with her.

"Is that all?" Crux asks when they're done.

"No," Lucy says, pulling another paper over, "We gotta do subtracting negatives too."

"Right," Crux says, retrieving his scratch paper and pencil. The first question is '-14 - -7 =?'. Crux copies it down on his paper and clears his throat.

"Subtracting negative numbers is like adding them," he says, "You can make the two minus signs into a plus, and..."  
Lucy blinks at the Spirit. He fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. How did he do that? The little girl shrugs and grasps Crux's thin, bony arm, shaking him awake.

Crux's snore turns into a snuffling snort as he wakes up. His cheeks pink with embarrassment as he realizes that he fell asleep while talking.

"You fall asleep a lot, Crux-san," Lucy tells him innocently. There is no malice in her tone, just curiosity and perhaps a hint of amusement.

"I'm very old, Lucy-chan, and as I get older I find it harder and harder to stay awake," Crux explains, "I'm very sorry, but I can't help it."  
Lucy contemplates that for a while, then her eyes widen and she bursts. "You're a Grandpa!"  
"Pardon?"  
"You're like a Grandpa!" Lucy explains, her eyes dancing with excitement, "You're old, and you fall asleep a lot, and you know everything! That's just like a Grandpa!"

"I see," Crux says, smiling and amused. It's not an inaccurate description, "Do you have any grandparents, Lucy-chan?"  
"No," Lucy says, shaking her head, "But the Gardener lets me call him Grandpa! He's old, and sometimes he has trouble tending the garden, but whenever the bushes get too big and he has to cut them, he brings me the flowers he cut off!"

"How kind of him," Crux says with a smile.

Lucy looks up at him contemplatively. "Hey Crux-san? Can I call you Grandpa?"

Crux is a little surprised by the request, but a moment later he is flooded with a happiness that he was not expecting. "You can absolutely call me Grandpa, Lucy-chan!" Lucy giggles in delight.

"Now, why don't we get this math done, shall we?"

Crux finishes his explanation of how to subtract negatives, and helps Lucy work the problems. To their delight, he manages to stay awake throughout the entire sheet. Of course, he clocks out as soon as they've finished. Lucy pokes him awake with a good-natured giggle.

"Time to wake up, Grandpa Crux!" she says in a sing-song voice.

Crux wipes his nose (another bubble popped when Lucy woke him up) and smiles at the little girl. "So it is, Lucy-chan. What's next?"

"Nothing!" Lucy shouts, her eyes shining, "We finished it all!"

"And do you understand it all?"

"Yes!" Lucy says ecstatically, "It all makes sense now!"

Crux smiles and feebly musses her hair. "Wonderful!"

Lucy carefully fixes her hair and looks up at him with a smile. "I'm so happy," she sighs, "I was so worried that I would get the tutor in trouble. I didn't want him to lose his job because of me." Lucy's eyes shine with genuine emotion; joy and gratitude. "And now he won't, all because of you. Thank you so much, Grandpa Crux!"

With that, Lucy flings herself into his arms for a hug. Crux catches her and hugs her back. His heart feels warm and soft, like melted ice cream. Lucy is so much like her mother, Crux reflects, in her love and appreciation of her Spirits, and care for her servants. But Lucy is also her own person. She has a heart that yearns to protect and help others, and she has the earnesty and eagerness of youth. Lucy is loyal and kind, and he is happy to have her as his Summoner.

"You can call on me any time, Lucy-chan," he tells her before he fades away, Lucy's meager stores of magic unable to hold him anymore.

And she does. Over the years before she runs away for good, Lucy Summons him many times to help with her homework. As she grows older, she grows smarter, and Summons him for homework help less and less. Instead, she Summons him to learn about Spirits – to become a better Summoner. It is a task that Crux is happy to help with.

Oh, and incidentally? The Spirit World knows him as Grandpa Crux in less than a week.

_~Star Child~_

** I based Lucy's problems with math off my own difficulties with negative numbers in the fourth grade. I was out sick the day we covered it in class, and when I got back in, I refused to believe that you could have a number less than zero. Somehow, even though it makes perfect sense to me now, it made absolutely no sense to my little child brain. I didn't get them until 2 whole grades later.**

** So while I was researching for this chapter, I discovered (after I had already written the chapter) that Aquarius was actually Lucy's first Spirit. Well, I didn't want to change anything, and then it occurred to me that who has a Gold Key for their first Spirit? If I was Lucy's tutor, I would have started her off with an easier Spirit – such as a Silver Key - and then taught her how to use Aquarius. So I decided to keep Crux as Lucy's first Spirit, then give her Aquarius a couple months later.**

** So the next chapter are going to feature Aquarius, then Horologium (the clock), then Lyra. I need songs for Lyra's chapter. I know this is a ways in the future, but if you guys could give me suggestions for songs that would be great. I haven't decided whether this is going to be a happy chapter or a sad chapter, so if you could recommend happy songs about friendship and sad songs about loss that would be great!**

** Don't forget to review!**

** Vamp**


	7. Chapter 7

** Dear Jesus guys, I cannot tell you how bad it's been these past couple months. And by that I literally mean that if I were to list out all the things that have stressed me out since I last posted, you guys would boo me out for making an author's note half the length of the chapter. Suffice to say that I have been stressed, busy, sick, had friends be sick, be more stressed, been more busy, and have missed the updates for both _Wings of a Dragon_ in December and _Wing__é__d Magic_ in January. In fact I didn't even finish the chapters. I cannot tell you how ashamed of that I am. Luckily for you guys, it looks like I'm going to make it this month, if only by the skin of my teeth. Enjoy the chapter you guys.**

_~Star Child~_

_Rating: M_

_Warnings: Some Language, Implied sexual actions_

_Summary: Aquarius is a Spirit meant for battle, not for playing with little girls! But if there's a chance for some good gossip, then maybe she'll stick around..._

_Words: 3356_

_~Star Child~_

Lucy stands by the pool in a ruffled red swimsuit, looking down into the waters. In her hand there is a Golden Key, which she turns over and over.

The Key is Aquarius's, a Spirit that used to belong to her mother. Lucy knows that her mother had at least three Spirits – Aquarius, Cancer, and Crux. She remembers Aquarius and Cancer from when she was a child.

The memories are foggy – she was so young when her mother died and the Spirits stopped coming around – but they are there. She remembers Cancer helping her into a red dress on the day of a wedding – the wedding of the CEO of an allied company – and applying little bits of rogue to her cheeks. She remembers sitting in his lap as he pins her hair up into an imitation of her mother's elaborate pin up. She remembers his look of pride as she leaves for the wedding, as pretty as a porcelain doll.

But more than Cancer, Lucy remembers Aquarius. She remembers eagerly waiting by the pool every Wednesday for another lesson. She remembers her mother playfully splashing Aquarius in the face, and the Spirit retaliating with a wave that washes them all out of the pool. She remembers Aquarius teaching her to swim underwater. She remembers being brought to the surface by Aquarius after inhaling some water, the Spirit coaxing the water from her lungs. She remembers Aquarius teaching her to dive. She remembers the face Aquarius makes when she's genuinely angry, and the face she makes when she is pleased but wants to seem angry. Lucy remembers _friendship_.

And Lucy misses that – that sense of friendship. Lucy has no friends – the servants and tutors love her, but they couldn't be called friends. Crux is wonderful as well, and his companionship is a great gift to her, but he still doesn't fill all the needs of a little girl.

Today is one of the days she's allowed to Summon Aquarius.

She takes a deep breath, and sticks the key in the water.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!"

Aquarius was not expecting to be Summoned. Sure, today was one of the days she could be Summoned, but Lucy is a kid. What could a sheltered little kid possibly do with a Zodiac Spirit?

So when she finds herself reforming in the Human World, she's both surprised and confused. And that makes her _nasty_.

She zeros in on Lucy, standing by the pool in a red swimsuit (_Who let a kid like her wear red?!_ Aquarius thinks furiously, _She should be wearing blue! Blue!_). The girl is looking up at her with a hopeful, happy expression. Aquarius relishes the chance to shatter that expression.

"What the hell do you want?" she says harshly.

Lucy's happy expression falters. "I... I..."

"I-I-I-iiiiii," Aquarius mimics cruelly, "What, you can't talk? What the hell do you want?"

Lucy now looks completely unhappy. "Isn't today one of the days I can Summon you?" she says uncertainly, "Did I get it wrong?"

Jeez, this kid is such an amateur. "Yes, today is one of the days," Aquarius says impatiently, _"S__o __what the hell do you want?"_

Lucy gathers her courage and says, "I was hoping you would play with me, please!"

Lucy's face is a combination of hopeful and prideful, but Aquarius doesn't even notice, because she's PISSED. Play with her? _Play_ with her?! Aquarius is a Zodiac Spirit, not a fucking babysitter! She's an elite! How _dare_ this little shit Summon her for something so trivial? Lucy cringes back from Aquarius's black, furious aura, her eyes widening in fear.

"Who the HELL do you think you ARE?!" Aquarius screeches, "I'm a _Zodiac Spirit_, the best of the best, and you Summoned me here to _play_ with you?! I've never been so insulted in my life! Is your head empty or something?! Because I've never met someone so fucking STUPID!" Aquarius doesn't even pause for breath. "Come play with me!" she mocks, "How fucking old are you, _two?_"

A quiet voice interrupts her rant. "I'm eleven."

Aquarius goes to give the girl a contemptuous look, but when she actually _looks_ at the child, she stops short. Lucy's eyes are brimming with tears that she valiantly tries to hold back. Aquarius is suddenly very uncomfortable. She's reduced Summoners to tears before, sure, and she's enjoyed it, but she's never made a child cry. It makes her feel almost... _guilty_.

That doesn't mean that she's not still mad at Lucy though; she's just not _as_ mad. Aquarius turns her back to Lucy, giving off a haughty air. "Then go play with the other eleven year olds!" she snaps over her shoulder.

Once again a quiet voice speaks up behind her. "There are no other eleven year olds. There are no other children, period."

Aquarius turns around in surprise. Lucy is looking up at her, and this time she looks past the tears, and sees the crushing loneliness in her eyes. Aquarius remembers, out of the blue, Lucy's tearful face on the day of her mother's funeral; the cruelty her father showed her; Capricorn coming back and telling them how traumatized Lucy was, just weeks before he disappeared. Aquarius sighs – God, it's no wonder Lucy Summoned her, the kid is probably desperate for some sort of affection.

Aquarius mutters something too low for Lucy to hear. "Excuse me? I couldn't hear that..." Lucy says a tad uncertainly.

Just loud enough to be heard, Aquarius angrily says, "What the fuck did you want to play?"

For a moment, Lucy's face is uncomprehending. Then, realization spreads over her face, and her entire body lights up.

"I was thinking we could play underwater tag!" Lucy says enthusiastically.

Aquarius makes a scathing noise, tossing her blue hair. "Underwater tag?" she says scornfully, "I thought you were eleven, kid, not five. Go grab a cup and fill it with pool water."

"Why?"

"Because I said to," Aquarius says impatiently, "Just do it, kid." To her pleasure, Lucy obeys and leaves to go get a cup.

She returns out of breath, having run to the kitchen and back. "Is this alright?" Lucy asks, holding up the cup she found. It is not a paper or plastic cup as Aquarius had expected, but a goblet made of pure, sparkling crystal. The shine of the expensive material catching the light immediately appeals to the Spirit's sense of beauty and importance.

"That is _perfect_," Aquarius purrs, "Now fill it up with water, and make sure not to spill any."

"What would happen if I spilled it?" Lucy asks as she kneels down at the edge of the pool to fill the goblet.

"Then I'd have to leave," Aquarius replies.

"Why?"

Jeez, again with the whys. Were all children this annoyingly curious, or was it just Lucy? "Because I need the water to maintain my connection to the Human World," she says flatly, "If it disappears, I disappear. Now let's go." She elegantly floats away from the pool and to Lucy's side.

"Where are we going?"

"Does it matter? Let's just go."

And with that, Aquarius sets off into the mansion, Lucy following close behind her and holding the goblet with both hands to avoid spilling a single precious drop. Aquarius doesn't know where they're going, but she's sure a mansion this large has _something_ to entertain an immortal Spirit and an eleven year old.

The first source of amusement they find is in the Servant's Wing. They come across the bedroom of a servant who once insulted Aquarius (by implying she was _prettier_ than Aquarius! Seriously?! It was like the little witch was _blind_ or something!). Normally, the Spirit doesn't bother to remember humans that aren't her Summoners (sometimes she doesn't even remember them), but Aquarius has a _great_ memory for grudges, and she remembers that she never got revenge on this particular maggot.

So Aquarius convinces Lucy to help her play a trick on this particular servant. Originally the trick was a lot meaner, but Lucy is a relatively nice person, and is fond of the servants, so the trick goes from malicious to mischievous.

Lucy finds a bucket and some liquid soap. Aquarius fills the bucket with water from her urn, and commands the water to mix itself until it's frothy with soap bubbles. Together, they hang the bucket up inside the servant's room, set to tip itself as soon as the maggot opens the door. Aquarius is congratulating Lucy (and more importantly, herself) on a job well done when her keen eyes spot a group of servants coming down the hall.

"Time to go, munchkin," Aquarius announces, grabbing Lucy's hand.

"Huh?"

"First rule of trouble making," Aquarius advises, "Never get caught at the scene of the crime!"

With that, they speed off down the hall, leaving only dust clouds and a few drops of water in their wake.

They slow after a few minutes, mainly because a horrified scream echoes through the manor – their trap has been sprung. Aquarius smiles maliciously, and Lucy gives a quiet giggle.

"So what now?" Lucy asks, looking up at her. Aquarius looks around thoughtfully. The deserted hallway they are in has a dozen closed doors along it before it merges with two other hallways at each end.

"Let's try door number one," Aquarius decides, reaching out for the closest door. It is as she lays her hand on the door that she hears a noise from inside the room, and pauses to listen.

_"Oh Rin-kun!"_

_ "You like that Hitomi-chan?"_

_ "Oh yes, Rin-kun! More!"_

Aquarius let go of the door knob like it burned her. Lucy must see something in her face, because she immediately asks, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Aquarius laughs, herding Lucy away from the room, "I just would rather open door number twelve!" True to her word, she opens the furthest door and herds Lucy inside.

The room that they enter isn't particularly interesting, at least at first. It's full of old, antique furniture covered with dusty sheets. But half hidden by a couch is a cardboard box with LAYLA written on it in thick black sharpie. Aquarius grins and points it out to Lucy, who lights up like the sun, and together they drag it out from behind the couch.

Once it's been pulled out, they can see that the full label is LAYLA'S BOOKS. Aquarius rips the tape off the box and starts rifling through it. Lucy is examining each book reverently, but Aquarius tosses them to the side carelessly. She is looking for something specific. "Come on, where's the good stuff?" she complains, searching more vigorously through the box.

Lucy gets her attention and shows her a book. "What's this?" she asks curiously. Aquarius takes it from her and grins. _Dark Love_ is written in spiky letters across the top of the front cover of the book, and below that is a picture of a woman looking longingly into the eyes of a man clad in a black robe.

"This," Aquarius announces, "Is exactly what we're looking for. It's a romance novel."

"What's a romance novel?" Lucy asks, tilting her head to the side rather cutely.

"It's a story about love," Aquarius explains. Layla and Aquarius had a shared love of the books, although Aquarius preferred hers a little raunchier than Layla did. Layla's romance novels were full of things like 'and together they laid until the dawn came' and 'the red and orange hues of the sunset perfectly matched the passion of their joining'. Actually, those novels were probably okay for Lucy to read. All the fun stuff was just implied.

"Here, let me read you the summary," Aquarius says before clearing her throat, "_When Isabella, the heiress to an enormous fortune, is kidnapped by a Guild of Dark Mages, she is terrified. One of her captors is the handsome Thanatos, a man with a heart as cold as ice and magic as black as his silky locks. Strangely, she finds herself drawn to him, and he to her. Will Isabella be able to escape the Dark Mages? Will she even want to?_"

Lucy looks intrigued. "Can we read it?" she asks. Aquarius happily cracks open the book and begins reading aloud. Lucy is entranced by the relationship, horrified when the Dark Guild tries to kill Isabella, and dazzled when Thanatos gives up his evil ways to save his love. They finish the book quickly, and move onto the sequel, _White Knight_. From there they blow through _Savage Summer_, _The Cursed Rose_, and _Blood-Red Passion_. Lucy is star-struck by the (rather cheesy) stories, but eventually Aquarius's throat goes dry and they have to take a break.

During their break, Lucy notices that there is another box behind the couch. This one, they find, is labeled LAYLA'S MAGAZINES. When they open the box, the first magazine they see is a copy of _Sorcerer __Magazine_. The magazine is old – dating back to the month of Layla's death – but that doesn't bother Lucy. The picture is of a short, older man in front of a building. The title reads "A LOOK INSIDE FIORE'S MOST CHAOTIC GUILD: FAIRY TAIL!" Lucy curiously opens the magazine up to the correct page and begins to read. She starts to grin at the reported antics, and starts giggling when the reporter is hit by a banana. When she is finished reading, she jumps to her feet with a grin.

"I'm going to find more of these!" Lucy exclaims before running out of the room, magazine in hand.

"Wait! Lucy!" Aquarius calls after her, but it's no use; Lucy is long gone. Her mood instantly darkening, the Spirit picks up her goblet of water and follows her Summoner.

Lucy moves with the mind-boggling speed of all children, and the next time Aquarius spots her she is speaking to a butler, who points her in a new direction. The Spirit labors to keep up with the young human. She finally catches up to her Summoner in an out-of-the-way room on the ground floor of the four story mansion.

The little girl is kneeling on the floor, her back to the door, and is surrounded by magazines. Aquarius looms up behind her, radiating a dark aura.

"Oh Luuuu-ccccyyyy..." the Spirit growls, her face set in an expression of righteous fury.

However, when Lucy looks up, she doesn't seem frightened at all. In fact, she beams at the irate Spirit, too excited by her discovery to be frightened of her.

"Look, Aquarius!" she exclaims, shoving a magazine up towards her face. Aquarius looks at it automatically. It is another, more recent issue of _Sorcerer Magazine_, and once again it features the Guild Fairy Tail. Aquarius looks at the many magazines surrounding Lucy; they are all copies of _Sorcerer Magazine_, ranging from old to new, and they all feature Fairy Tail in some way, from interviews with the members to reports of their missions. Nearby is a large magazine holder filled with more copies of _Sorcerer Magazine_, some of which have been pulled out and tossed aside carelessly. None of those editions feature Fairy Tail. Aquarius's brow furrows. Did Lucy go through all these magazines to find the ones on Fairy Tail?

"This is Mirajane Strauss," Lucy chatters, "She joined Fairy Tail a year or two ago, but she's older than me. I think she's really pretty, and they say she's really strong too!"

Somewhat reluctantly, Aquarius looks at the picture of the girl. She looks to be in her early teens, with a high white pony tail and black punk clothes that match the bad attitude on her face. She _is_ a very pretty girl, one who will be beautiful in a few years.

This looks like it's shaping up to be a very good gossip session, so Aquarius lets go of her anger, puts down her goblet of water, and settles in next to Lucy.

As Lucy reads a tale of destruction (some kid named Gray froze a town or something unimportant like that), Aquarius reads the interview of a 30 some year old red head named Gildarts. The Spirit quite likes the rugged, handsome cut of his face, and the interview says that he's one of the strongest members of his Guild. In other words, he's a great catch, and possible boyfriend material. This, of course, means she has to bring it to Lucy's attention.

"Lucy, come over here. Look at this." Lucy comes over, and Aquarius shows her the picture of Gildarts. "See this guy, Lucy? He's a real catch. He's strong, he's handsome, he's probably got some great abs – he's boyfriend material. This is the type of guy you should try to date."

Lucy examines the picture, wrinkling her little nose. "He's old though," Lucy complains.

"That's true," Aquarius agrees, "Let's find someone closer to your age."

When they are done going through all the interviews, they have only found two people that Aquarius finds worthy. The first was a blond teenager names Laxus, and the second was a boy called Salamander, who they didn't have a picture for, but was supposed to be Lucy's age.

"See, he's another good catch," Aquarius says, pointing at the picture of Laxus, "Very strong, handsome, lots of abs even though he's still young, and he's the grandson of the Guild Master! What more could you want?"

"A nice guy," Lucy says critically, "Look at his face. He's got an awful attitude." The teen does indeed have an ugly look on his face.

"That makes him a bad boy!" Aquarius says passionately, jabbing her finger at the picture, "He's got a hard exterior, but I bet he's soft inside! Like a clam!"

"I like this one better," Lucy says, waving around the magazine that has Salamander's article. There isn't a good picture of the boy; the best that there is is a picture of his chest as he turns away, part of his face showing as well. You can see the bottom corner of a toothy grin. They don't have a name either; just the one that the magazine made up for him, Salamander. "He seems like a lot of fun!" Lucy continues with a smile, rereading the article. It doesn't have much on him; the boy was too busy bouncing around like a top to give a proper interview.

Aquarius grudgingly examines the article. "He is closer to your own age," she admits, "Actually, I think he is your age."

"See, perfect!" Lucy says, "He's my age and seems really really fun!"

"The article barely says anything about him!" Aquarius argues, "Laxus's article gives a good profile of him!"

"That just makes Salamander mysterious!" Lucy counters.

The argument goes on. And on. And on. In fact it goes on until Lucy's magical reserves finally exhaust themselves and Aquarius disappears. Lucy smugly decides that this means that she has won the argument, and she gathers up the magazines for later reading.

This is Lucy's introduction to the fantastic Guild Fairy Tail, the Guild that she will one day join. It's a very favorable introduction, one that leads Lucy to take out a personal subscription to _Sorcerer Magazine_ so that she can follow the Guild's antics. She even develops something of a small crush on the mysterious Salamander. (Lucy insists that this crush was dispelled the moment that he sprayed the food _she_ bought for him all over her. Aquarius thinks that it merely transferred from _Salamander_ to _Natsu_.)

On a slightly less life changing note, Lucy also goes back to the storage room and gathers up her mother's romance novels. She reads them constantly. She reads them at dinner, she reads them in the bathroom, she reads them in the bath itself, she even reads them while she's supposed to be asleep. She reads them so much that in a different world, a certain white haired, one eyed man feels a sudden urge to defend his title.

Crux complains to the other Spirits that Lucy has begun to blow off her homework to read those 'appalling excuses for literature'. Aquarius is undeniably pleased.

Who needs to know how to do math anyway?

_~Star Child~_

** Before I get questions from shippers, no, that was not foreshadowing for a romantic relationship. This story will have no actual romance. It'll have little hints that you can take as you will, but I will never outright say that Lucy is dating someone. Aquarius and Lucy were just being girls and gossiping. We do it all the time. And her crush on Natsu doesn't mean anything either. Just a silly little childhood crush. (Whether it becomes an adult crush is up to you)**

** I'd like to thank all of you for recommending so many songs for me! I was really surprised by how enthusiastic everyone was to share their music! I haven't gotten through all of them yet, but I'm working on it. If you like, you can keep giving me more, but that's is 100 percent optional. Totally up to you.**

** On another note, I have a snow day tomorrow! Yay!**

** Stay warm and dry and don't forget to review!**

** Vamp**


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